Paper feeding device



1938., u'. M. w. KULM ET AL 2,131,895

PAPER FEEDING DEVICE Fiied Dec. 18, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q w '3 r m I my I o P. g N r 5 t 50') I m l N i ,3

I b u g l l I! I: l

nil

Ylll l ll lll!!!lllll 9 JNVENTOR. #4404 /u. 41. MW.

ATTORNEY"? Oct. 4, 1938.

ATTORNEY.

Oct. 4, 1938;

u. M. w. KOLM'ET AL PAPER FEEDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 18, 19:54

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOk.

Oct. 4, 1938. u. M. w. KOLM E1 AL 2,131,895

PAPER FEEDING DEVI CE Fil ed Dec. 18, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 III]INVENTOR. .mafi

W ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Mutschler,Berlin-Sudende, Germany,

assignors to International Business Machines Corp., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application December 18, 1934, Serial No.157,990 In Germany March 27, 1984 10 Claims. (01. lav-mi This inventionrelates to an improved form of paper feeding device. 1

An object of the invention is to provide means for moving a record sheetback or forth to corroot irregularities in the spacing of the sheetduring operation of the machine.

In recording business transactions on a continuous record sheet dividedinto forms, diiliculty is often experienced in maintaining regularspacing so that the printing positions coincide on all forms. Thedevices of the present invention are adapted to give either a continuoussheet or separate record sheets a correcting movement either manually orautomatically and in either direction as the machineis operated. Theadvantage of correcting the spacing of the record sheet as the machineis operating is of special value in a record card controlled tabulatorwhere continuous operation is otherwise possible because of theautomatic control of the cards and the automatic printing and shiftingfrom form to form without any manual operation between forms. Heretoforein order to correct the position of a record sheet, the machine wouldhave to be brought to rest.

A feature of the invention is the provision oi differential gearingwhich is connected to the record sheet feeding platen so that theordinary driving mechanism may function therethrough 3 0 and anothercorrecting mechanism may act simultaneously to turn the platen forwardor reversed.

'Another object oi the present invention is the provision of a brakingdevice between the 35 paper spacing mechanism and the paper carrier.This mechanism is provided so that a correcting movement directedthrough one sideof the differential mechanism is applied to the platenshaft instead of turning the other side of the diil'eren- 4o tial.

Another object of the invention is the provision 01' means for sensing amark or perforation on a record sheet and therebycontrolling theactuation of mechanism for spacing the sheet 45 backward or forward incorrecting the position of the sheet for the reception of dataimpressions.

Another feature 0! the present invention is the provision of a mechanismfor imparting a' correcting movement to a platen without a re- 50 turnmovement towards the correcting source feeding devices showing a sectionthrough the diiferential gearing taken along the line l-l of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view showing the gear connections for drivingthe platen shaft. 5

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the paper feeding devices.

Fig. 4 is a plan view partly in section showing the braking mechanismassociated with the platen drive sears. 10

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the light-sensitive photocell controldevices.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a portion of the record sheet showing thecontrol mark thereon or perforation cut therein.

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagramof the electrical connectionsand relayscontrolled by'the lightsensitive device for energizing a platen spacingmotor. i

Fig. 8 is a side view of the driving mechanism 20 in a coupling device.-1 v Fig. 9 is a ifrontv view of the parts shown in Fig. 8.

L Fig. 10 is a side view of thedriven portion of the coupling. 25

Fig. 11 is a front view of the parts shown in Fig. 10.

Referring to Fig. i. it is seen that the carriage frame includes a baseplate I and a side frame ii upon which the carriage drive gearing issupported. A constantly rotating vertical shaft .l carries a frictiondisk 62 near the upper end. Above the disk 82 there is slidably mountedanother friction disk keyed to a bushing carrying a bevel gear l (Fig.2) and adapted to connect the bevel gear for movement in synchronismwith shaft I when a handle 2 is operated to bringv the friction diskstogether. The bevelgear I meshes with a smaller bevel gear I,Fig." 3,con- I nected to a gear 8 on shaft 63. Between the 40 gear 8 and anothergear I loosely mounted on adjacent shalt I, there is formed 21 Genevadriving connection. The side of gear I is formed with a notched collar Iproviding one. side of a clutch. The other part of the clutch is formedas a collar II which is keyed to shaft 8 butslidable axially thereon toinsert a projection 89 in the notch in collar 0. A spring 84 normallyholds the collar I. in aretracted position. Cooperating with theopposite end of collar. I 0 is an armature lever II which is adapted toforce the collar to a clutch closing position when the i associatedpaper spacing magnet PM is energized. This magnet is usually energizedbetween total printing operations, but may be energised beu tween itemsif a separate record form is desired for each item entry.

The Geneva driving connection referred to hereinbefore, Fig. 2, isprovided between gears 6 and 1' to cause a dwell in the drivingoperation during which the magnet PM may become effective to close theclutch. In certain sections of the gears 6 and 1 the teeth are removedfrom the periphery of. the gears. When these sections of the gearscoincide, a concentric disk 6' on gear 6 is brought into cooperationwith a complementarily formed plate 1' fastened to gear 1. These parts6' and 1' act-to hold the gear 1 and the connected shaft 8 in a fixedposition during the interval of time that the gears are disengaged andbefore one-of. a pair of studs 8 mounted on a crank 5' adjacent gear 6,strikes the side of plate 1 to start the gear 1 rotating in mesh withgear 6.

When the clutch collar l0, Fig. 3, is moved into engagement with hub 9,a driving connection is established between the drive gear 4 and a gearll attached to shaft 8. The gear I l meshes with a pinion 14 attached toa gear 15 on a bushing I9. The pair of gears 14 and I5 are mounted on astub shaft 65 located in a removable plate 28 assembled alongside theside frame 21. A fingerpiece 66 is attached to a rectangular guide strip99 and plate 29 by means of a pair of studs 61, Fig. 2. This same strip99 acts as a locating means for the plate 29 in cooperating with a slot68 cut in the top of side frame 2|. After the plate .29 and theassembled gears l4 and 15 are lowered into driving position they may belocked therein by the insertion of a spring plunger 22, Fig. 3, operatedby a knob 2m.

The reason for the provision of a removable gear holder is to providemeans for changing the size of the gears and the ratio between thedriving and driven gears and thus varying the space from form to form onthe record sheet.

The driving connections continue through the meshing of gear l5 withanother gear 18 loosely mounted on a shaft .11, but connected theretothrough a pawl coupling 35, described more fully hereinafter. Shaft l1carries a gear l8 meshing with a pinion 23 (Fig. 4) formed on shaft 24which at its other end carries a gear 25. An idler gear 26 acts totransmit the motion of gear 25 to agear 21 loosely mounted on platenshaft 28. This gear 21 forms part of the differential gearing shown inFig. 1, and it is seen that the side of gear 21 is formed with bevelgear teeth cooperating with a pair of. bevel pinions 29 and 38 turningon pivots attached to a'bushing 3| secured to the platen shaft 28. Thebevel pinions 29 and 38 cooperate with another set of bevel gear teethin a worm wheel 32 also loosely mounted on shaft 28. Cooperating withworm wheel 32 is adriving worm 33 fixed to shaft 34. It is through thisworm drive that a correcting movementis imparted to the platen shaft 28.The gearing is self-locking in the direction of shaft 34 'so thatalthough motion may be imparted through 34 to the platen shaft 28 nomotion will be imparted to shaft 34 when the platen shaft is driven bythe spacing mechanism through gear 21.

A frictional brake device is provided to co-- operate with the idlergear 26, Fig. 4, which is located between the driving gear 25 and thegear 21 forming one train 01' connections to the differential mechanism.This brake is provided to insure that the correcting movement impartedto shaft 34 will be transmitted through pinions 28 and 38 to the platenshaft 28, rather than act to turn gears 21, 26, and 25 and so on backdisk 36, the disk is free'for axial movement along the trunnion. Thetrunnion is fixed in position on the side plate 96 by means of screws 91and acts as a bearing for gear 26, disk 36 and a nut 40 cooperating witha thread cut in the end of trunnion 31. The nut 49 is formed with aknurled head which may be grasped and turned to vary the pressure of theleather ring 39 against the side of gear 26, thus adjusting thefrictional resistance which gear 26 must overcome in order to rotate. Ifthe paper feeding devices are to be operated without the correctingfeature, the pressureagainst gear 26 may be: relieved by turning nut 48.

In Figs. 1 and 3 it is noted that shaft 28 carries a platen 16 extendingacross the carriage. At the end of the platen removed from thedifferential gears, a ratchet gear, I58 is provided for ordinaryoperation. The device of the present invention may be incorporated in arecord controlled machine, such as that shown in Patent No, 1,762,145,issued June 10, 1930, to G. F. Daly et al., where the paper feedingdevices are adapted for a simple line-spacing operation in listing orgroup controlled tabulating operation where paper spacing is controlledto function only in connection with total printing.

The pawl coupling 35 referred to hereinbefore is shown in detail inFigs. 8 to 11, inclusive. Referring-to Fig. 8, it is noted that thedrive gear 16 is attached to a plate 19 by means of a bushing 18.Mounted on the side of plate 19 (Fig. 9) are a pair of studs and 8|acting as pivots for pawls 82 and 83. The pawl 82 is urged by a spring85 into cooperation with a ratchet gear 86 (Fig. 11) The pawl is held inthis position when a large spacing movement is desired on each operationof the machine.

Such spacing operations may occur between the printing of. items or theprinting of totals. The pawl 82 may be cammed out of engagement withratchet 86 when it is desired to feed the paper through a long distanceonly after the printing of a series of items with short line spacingbetween items. The pawl is provided with a stud 81 (Fig. 9) protrudingthrough a cam slot 88 cut in the side of a disk 89 adjacent the plate19.

The disk is knurled on the outer edge so that it may be grasped by theoperator and turned to shift the position of pin 81 and pawl 82. The

disk is held in adjusted position by a compression spring 98 occupyingthe space between gear l6 and disk 89 and forcing the disk intofrictional contact with plate 19. Turning to Fig. 10 it is noted thatthe ratchet 86 is secured to a bushing 88:: pinned to the platen driveshaft l1. Also mounted on bushing 86a is a single toothed wheel and aplate 94, the side of which is cut with a spiral box cam groove 93.Wheel 95 and plate 94 cooperate with the pawl 83 mounted on plate 19.

In Fig. 9 it is noted that a coil spring 9| urges the pawl 83 in aclockwise direction. This brings the end of the pawl intocooperationwith the tooth on wheel 95. A pin 92 on pawl 83 cooperof thetwo adjusted positions.

ates with the groove 93 cut in the side of plate 94. If the plate 94 isturned in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 11) the groove 93 willgradually move the end of the pawl 83 out of engagement with the toothon wheel 95. Not only will the tooth be separated from the pawl in amovement along an are, but the end of the pawl will be moved outwardlyaway from the tooth in a radial direction so that after one completerevolution of the plate 94 the pawl will miss the tooth, even if it isopposite it. The turning of plate 94 takes place when the platen and theconnected shaft I 1 are turned in line spacing.

An example may be taken to illustrate clearly the cooperation betweenpawl 83 and parts 94 and 95. Supposing that the interchangeable gears I4and I5 (Fig. 2) are proportioned so that an operation of the paperfeeding mechanism causes two revolutions of the plate l9. .Then assumethat the shaft I1 and. the attached wheel 95 and plate 94 are turnedthrough one and one-half revolutions through the recording (or a seriesof items and accompanying line-spacing of the. platen between theprinting of the items. Then, when the magnet PM is energized, and gearI6 and attached pawl 83 start to rotate through the two revolutions, thepawl 83 will be separated from wheel 95 because of the previous one andone-half revolutions of plate 94 and the consequent camming of pin 92 bythe spiral groove 93 so that the end of the pawl misses the tooth onwheel 95. After one-half a revolution of the plate 19, pawl 83 will beopposite the tooth but separated therefrom because of the position helddue to the spiral groove 93. It is only after another revolution of thedriving parts that the pawl catches up to the wheel and drives itthrough the remaining one-half revolution. Thus, the record sheet willbe fed a constant amount after each operation of the control magnet PMwhether or not there are any intervening movements of the sheet forshort line spaces.

Turning now to Fig. 3 it is noted that the correction shaft 34 projectsout towards the front of the machine. As soon as the operator of themachine notices that the record paper is not properly positioned for thereception of a line of print, he may adjust the paper either forward orbackward by turning crank I5 extending from the front of shaft 34. Hemay do this at any time during the operation of the machine withoutstopping the machine. The adjustment or correction may even be madeduring the feeding of the paper. This is possible because of thedifferential gear connections discussed hereinbefore.

Other devices are provided for adjusting the record paper to the properprinting position without any attention on the part of the operator.This automatic feed correction mechanism includes a motor 43 (Fig. 3)the shaft III of which carries a bevel gear II meshing with a bevel gear12 fixed to shaft 34. The gear 'II is keyed on P shaft I0 but is movableaxially and may be shifted into or out of mesh with gear 12 by amanipulative frame 13 in order to select automatic control. A spring 14cooperates with a cam projection on frame 13 to hold the gear "II ineither The motor is selectively energized to rotate the shaft II|backward or forward under control of a light sensitive photo-cellswitching device.

The photocell 49 (Fig. 5) is arranged to be influenced by a mark orperforation 45 (Fig. 6)

and directed upon the photocell 49.

printed on or punched in the record sheet 44 in the form of a blankfield or opening interrupting the white surface of the paper. An openingin the sheet 44 may reveal a portion of the paper guide 98 which ispainted black on the surface under the sheet. Such a mark or opening 45is provided within each section or form into which the record sheet isdivided, and may appear either at the top or the bottom of a section.

Light rays emitted from a light source such as a lamp 46 (Fig. 5) areconcentrated by a lens 48 within a tube 41 and fall at the line A--Aupon the record sheet. The rays are reflected from the paper and upthrough tube 41a and lens 48a The photocell controls the energization ofa glow relay 5!] (Fig. 7), depending upon the condition of the papersurface at the point A--A and the amount of light reflected thereby. Ifa darksurface at A-A fails to reflect enough light, photocell 49 willnot furnish suflicient current for the energization of the glow relay50.

As long as the paper forms or sections follow each other with such aspacing that the light emitted by the lamp 46 falls upon the black field45, the reflected rays falling upon the photocell 49 are too weak toestablish sufficient current for the energization of the glow relay 50.

However, if the light falls on a white surface, then the exposure of thephotocell is increased and the current will change. This causes a changein potential at the resistance W2 (Fig. '7) and a change in potential atthe distributing point P in series with. the photocell. At the point Pthe electrode of the relay 59 is mounted under the interpolation of aresistance WI. If the potential is changed at the junction P under theinfluence of the photocell, the reversible tension of the glow relay 50is exceeded and the following circuit will be..closed: from line 5|,contacts MCC (operated by a magnet such as magnet 94 shown in Patent No.1,762,145), switch S. cam contact GL5 closed late in each cycle, relayRI, relay contact R2a normally closed, wire IOI,

anode 52 and cathode 53 of the relay 50 and.

over the wires 54 and 55 to the other side of the line 56. When therelay RI is energized, the associated contact RIa. is closed and thefollowing circuit is established; from line 5| through wire 51, relayRI', contact .RIa, relay magnet R2, cam contact GLI closed a short timebefore contact GL5 is closed, and through conducting wire 58 to theother line 56. The energized relay R2 opens the associated contact RMand breaks the circuit through relay 5!! and magnet RI. The circuitthrough the relay R2 remains in force through the closed contact RIabecause the energized relay RI is mounted on the same .core with thewinding of relay RI in alignment with contact RIa.

Another contact R2b associated with the relay R2 is reversed in positionupon the energization of the latter to assume a position opposite tothat shown in the drawings so that at the time the cam contact GL2 isclosed the following circuit will be established: from the line 5|,through wires 51, 59, relay R4, upper contact R2b, cam contact GL2 andwires BI) and 58 to line 56. Thus it is seen that the relay R4 isenergized when the relay 50 is affected due to sensing of a whitesurface on the record sheet 44. If the relay 50 is not affected in thisway due to the sensing of the mark or symbol 45 (Fig. 6) the relay R2remains deenergized and the lower contact Rib is effective and incondition for an energization of the other relay R3.

The relays R3 and R4 are provided with contacts R30. and R4a,respectively, arranged in a circuit containing a double-stepped relayDSR which controls three contacts DSRa, DSRb, and DSRc. The two contactsDSRa, and DSRb are wired in series with the field winding 43a in thecorrection drive motor 43 shown in Fig. 3.

Assuming that the relay DSR is in such a condition that the associatedcontacts are positioned as shown in the drawings and that on the closingof cam contact GL4 the motor will rotate in such a way that the recordstrip 44 will be moved in reverse of the usual direction. The circuitthrough the field winding 43a may be traced on Fig. 7; through line 5I,contacts MCC, switch S, wire I02, contacts DSRb, winding 43a, contactsDSRa, line I03, contacts GL4 and line 56.

Then, should the relay R4 be energized due to the action of the relay50, the following circuit is established when the cam contact GL3 isclosed: from line 5 I, a circuit continues through wires 51 and 59,through relay DSR, upper contact DSRc, contact R4a, cam contact GL3 andwires 60 and to line 56. The energization of magnet DSR serves to rockan armature lever I04 and draw pawl I05 down into a retracted positionalongside a cooperating ratchet gear I06. Mountedalongside the gear isa' cam I01 cooperating with a projection I fixed to one of the connectedset of cam contacts DSRa, DSRb, and DSRc. As soon as the magnet DSR isdeenergized by the opening of cam contact GL3, lever I04 is released sothat spring I09 actuates the cam I01 and forces all the DSR contactsinto a lowered position. A circuit through the field winding 43a thenfollows a path along wires I02 and II, through contacts DSRa', winding43a, contact DSRb' and wire I03. Thus, the passage of the currentthrough the field winding 43a is reversed with the effect that the motor43 is turned to cause a forward rotation of the record sheet 44. Whenthe DSR contacts are so arranged for the forward rotation of motor 43,it is noted that relay magnet DSR is connected inseries with thecontacts R3a through the closed contact DSRc'.

If it is assumed that on the next paper feeding operation'the correctprinting position has not yet been reached and the glow relay 50 isagain energized, this does not change the condition of the relayDSR'because it is already adjusted to cause forward rotation of themotor 43.

Because of the concentration of the sensing light rays, the photocelldevice 49 may be made very sensitive to slight,changes in feeding whichbring the pencil of light close to either side of line AA and changeablewhen not far from line AA. In this way, change of corrective directionof the feed may occur on alternate operations to keep the printingposition of the sheet very close to a point wherein line AA appears atthe midpoint of the sensing light. Although the devices only tend tocorrect large errors in feeding, such errors should be rare and it maybe.

assumed that ordinarily the feeding devices bring the line A--A close tothe rays of sensing light so that subsequent operation of the correctiondevice brings the record sheet in proper printing position.

Even. though the relay R4 is energized as soon as the relay 50 reacts,the action of relay R4 does not change the connections since the uppercontact DSRc is open. It is only when a mark or opening 45 is againsensed by the photocell devices that the connections are reversed by anenergization of relay R3 due to the failure of magnet R2 to cause achange in the position of contacts R2b'. When the relay R3 is energizeddue to the failure of a reaction in relay 50, the contacts R3a close andmagnet DSR is energized over a circuit including wires 51, 59, relayDSR, contacts DSRc', contacts RM and cam contacts GL3. Thus the armaturelever I04 is rocked and when cam contacts GL3 open, the lever isrestored by spring I09, cam I01 permits the upward movement of the DSRcontacts into the position shown in the drawings and the motor 4 isagain conditioned for backward rotation. he connections described areeffective to correct -the position of the record sheet before theprinting operation so that the first printing line on each section ofthe record sheet is in a proper position before printing is initiated.

It is assumed in the foregoing section of the description that themachine is conditioned for item printing operations wherein each cycleof operation of the machine involves the printing and spacing of therecord sheet for one line or from form to form.where a separate form isdesired for each item.

For such operation the switch S is closed and magnet 04 holds contactsMCC closed during item entry. In another type of operation known astabulating, the amounts on a group of record cards are accumulatedwithout being listed and only the group number and the total areprinted. During such operation the paper sheet is spaced only betweentotal recording. Therefore, correction of the paper spacing may beeliminated in the intervening cycles while accumulation takes place. Forthe latter mode of operation the switch S is opened and a contact R5bcontrolledby relay R5 is relied upon to close the opening caused by themovement of switch S. This relay R5 is energized at the proper timeduring tabulating operation by the intermittent closing of cam contactPr. This happens during the passage of the first card of a group, atwhich time it is well to correct the position of the record sheet beforethe printing of the group number and the total amount accumulated fromthe group of record cards. The difference between listing and tabulatingoperations is set forth in detail in the previously mentioned Patent No.1,762,145. The cam associated with contact Pa: may be mounted on a shaftto be operated only upon initiation of the listing operation shown anddescribed in said patent, while the other cams may be mounted onconstantly running shafts. When relay R5 is energized by the closure ofcontact Pr, the circuit therethrough is picked up and maintained by theclosing of contact GL6 which holds the relay energized until after thecontact GL3 is opened.

Having now particularly described and set forth the nature of theinvention, and in what manner the operations of the same may beperformed, the following is claimed:

1. In a machine of the class described, a differential mechanismoperable through two trains of connections for feeding a sheet through athird train of connections, means for operating one train of connectionsto feed the sheet, means for' operating the other train of connectionsto feed the sheet, and an adjustable brake cooperating with one of saidoperating trains of connections to retard the same and direct theoperation of the other train through said third train to feed the sheet.

2. In a machine of the class described, means adapted for feeding markedforms for line spacing, other means for feeding a new form after avariable number of line spacing operations of the previous form, meansfor sensing the position of the mark on each form, means for disablingsaid sensing means during line spacing,

means for rendering said sensing means againefiective after linespacing, and means under control of said sensing means for shifting eachsuspending operation of said shifting means during line spacingoperation.

4. In a record card controlled machine, means controlled by changes inclassification designations identifying the controlling cards, record utions identifying theccntrolling cards, an inter-. mittently operatedsheet feeding means operatedsheet feeding means, other feeding means forimparting a final correcting movement to said sheet, and means undercontrol of said first mentioned means for calling said correcting meansinto operation when a change occurs in card classification.

5. In amachine operated for item enterlng an'd total printing cycles,means for feeding a record sheet, means for shifting said sheet back orforth into correct printing position, and means operated only on totalprinting cycles for selecting said shifting means for operation.

6. In a printing machine operated for item entering and total printingcycles, a platen for holding a record sheet which is provided withposition registering marks, means for operating the platenintermittently to feed the sheet, means .operable when saidfeed-operating means is at rest for sensing the position of a mark onthe sheet with relation to the platen, and means under control of saidsensing means and operable only on total printing cycles for moving saidplates and said sheet back or forth toward a correct total printreceiving position.

7. In a record card controlled machine, means controlled by changes inclassification designaunder control of said flrstanentioned means forfeeding a marked sheet when a change occurs in card classification,other means for shifting said sheet, a motor for operating said othermeans, a photo-cell for sensing the presence or absence of the mark onthe sheet at a certain position after each intermittent feedingoperation, and means under control of said photo-cell for selectivelychanging the direction of operation of said motor. V

8. In an accounting machine of the class described, means for linespacing a continuous sheet divided into perforated forms, other meansoperable intermittently for feeding the sheet from form to form after avariable number of line spacing operations, means for shifting saidsheet, a motor for operating said shifting means,

a photo-cell operative after each intermittent feeding operation forsensing the presence of a perforation in the sheet at a certainposition, and means under control of said photo-cell for changing thedirection of operation of said motor to correct the position of saidsheet with. relation to said certain position.

9. In an accounting machine of the class described, means adapted toline space a continuous sheet divided into perforated forms, other meansoperable intermittently for feeding the sheet from form to form after avariable number.

of line spacing operations, means for sensing the position of aperforation on each form, and means under control of said sensing meansfor shifting a form back or forth according to the position of theperforation.

10. In a machine of the class described, a platen for feeding a markedrecord sheet, a constantly rotating shaft, a pair of Geneva drive gears,means for connecting one of said gears with the shaft, a clutch betweenthe other of said gears and a platen drive gear, a magnet for operatingsaid clutch, interchangeable idler gears between said platen drive gearandanother platen gear, differential gearing connected to said platen, apawl coupling between said other platen

